Another
by Xandra04
Summary: A Manticore girl escaped 3 years ago from a base no one knew about. Chapters 1-12
1. Xandra

1  
  
Xandra Morris slumped back into the metal frame chair across from Max in Logan Cale's apartment. She struggled to keep her eyes open. She hadn't slept for two days, and now these people wanted her to explain herself. But wasn't that why she was here? To find them, to maybe know someone like her, someone that had lived through it all. She stopped thinking about it, and let out a tired sigh as Logan wheeled himself into the room, stopping in front of the office table.   
  
"So?" he asked, staring expectantly at her. Xandra snapped out of her daze, "Oh. Yeah," she began, "Well, about two years after they created X5, the Manticore scientists started at another base. In Arizona, I think. I don't think anyone knew about it. Except for Lydecker and a few of his co-conspirators." "So what happened?" Max asked curiously. "Well, after your group escaped, they started training all of us separately. I guess they thought it would prevent us from escaping or something like that." Xandra replied flatly, looking downward. "Were there any others?" Logan asked her. "I don't know. There might have been. If there were, I was the only one of us that got out of there." Xandra explained, lifting her gaze from the floor. "Is there anything different about your group?" he asked her. "Like what?" Xandra asked Logan. "Seizures. Max and the other Manticores get them." Logan explained. "I don't. Haven't yet, I guess they fixed that when they engineered us." She said.   
  
"Why didn't you try to find the rest of us?" Max asked, raising her eyebrows. "Too dangerous. If anyone was looking for me, they could trace all of that back to you guys and get you too. It was easier to search for someone like Logan. Even if they found something like that, they wouldn't be able to trace him to knowledge of Manticore and to you guys. At least not as easily." Xandra replied flatly. Max and Logan exchanged glances. This girl was smart. It was no surprise that she'd been able to elude Lydecker and the rest of his colleagues for as long as she had. But then again, she'd only escaped three years ago.   
  
The rusted apartment door swung open, and a young guy, a little older than Max stormed in. His blond hair hung to the tops of his ears, and he was at least half a foot taller than Xandra was. There was an open gash across his cheek. "Oh my god Zack, what happened?" Max asked, shocked. "I'm okay," Zack replied, "had a nasty run-in with a car. I'm okay though, it wasn't bad." He obviously was hurt, but was too stubborn to let them help him. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing to Xandra. Everyone exchanged looks, "This is Xandra. She's another Manticore. Apparently they had a completely different lab stationed across the country a couple years after they created X5." Logan explained, glaring at Zack. Zack made a face, and looked back up at Xandra. She ran her fingers through her long, straight blond hair, and locked her piercing blue eyes onto his. Zack somehow managed to smile. Max and Logan exchanged confused glances; Zack had barely smiled since they had met him.   
  
"I should go." Xandra said, sliding on her silver jacket and making her way towards the door of the apartment. "Wait," Logan said, raising his voice, "do you have anywhere to stay?" "Yeah. Some old apartments or something where the center used to be. I gotta walk back, though." She said matter-of-factly. "I know that place," Zack stated, "It's dangerous." She stared at him surprised, as he followed her out the apartment door. No one had offered to help her since she had gotten out of Manticore, and she wasn't used to anyone being civil towards her, especially if they knew who she really was.  
  
Xandra and Zack stood in front of the beaten-up metal door to the abandoned apartments where Xandra lived. She pushed open the heavy door and cautiously made her way up the curling stairway; unaware that Zack was right behind her. It wasn't something that she had expected. Once they reached the top of the stairway, she turned into a long corridor, searching for her door number: 528. She stuck the small, silver key into the hole, turned it, and threw the door open. It was only when she turned around to close it, that she realized that Zack was still there. "What?" she asked him suspiciously. "Just making sure that you'd be safe. Alone. It's dangerous for people like us." He said, seeming a little agitated. "We're soldiers, right Zack? I can take care of myself." Xandra said, a sly smile crossing her face. She closed the apartment door. Zack leaned back against the wall next to the closed door of apartment 528. Wow, he thought, a girl after my own heart.   



	2. Small Talk

2  
  
"So what kind of drugs is that Zack guy on, anyway?" Xandra asked confusedly. "Why? What'd he do this time?" Max asked her. Xandra glanced down at the bottom of her empty cup of hot chocolate. She never drank coffee. "Well, first he insisted that the complex that I live in is too dangerous, and then proceeded to follow me all the way up the stairs to my apartment." She replied. Max sighed softly, taking one last gulp of her coffee, "Zack has this strange obsession with being the leader and he thinks that it's his job alone to protect every living one of us. That's what happens when you let someone become field commander in Manticore."  
  
  
"Logan," Max yelled from the apartment door, after letting herself in of course, "you here?" "In here!" Logan's voice came from his office. Where else? Max leaned up against the doorway to the office; she was followed closely by Xandra. "So you've been blowing up my pager all morning, what's so important." Max asked, locking eyes with him. The two of them began to talk, but Xandra was too busy admiring the apartment to notice. She wondered where Logan got the fortune he used to buy all of his technological equipment.   
  
"Okay," Max replied, Xandra didn't even know what the question had been, "I'll do it." It was about time they started heading back to Jam Pony. It wasn't like Xandra missed it, she'd only had this job for about two days and she was already thinking about ways to rob Normal of his voice, just so all the 'bip bip bip-ing' would stop. But she still had a few deliveries to make, and it was already five in the evening. Not that she cared much, night was the best part of the entire day to her, and the fact that she never got tired made it even better. Sure, she could sleep, but the only reason for that was to conserve as much energy as possible, and for that she only needed a few minutes of the stuff.   
  
  
"So what is it that's goin on between you and Wheels?" Xandra asked, rolling her bike into the Jam Pony headquarters, if you could even call them that. "What do you mean?" Max asked her, trying to avoid the subject. It was pretty obvious to Xandra that there was something between them, but Max was clearly not going to admit it. Then again, why would she? The two had only met less than a week ago. "I'm serious Max. You should see you two together! There's some weird type of electricity that connects you, it's pretty obvious, and you're going to stand there and tell me that there's absolutely nothing goin on between you and Logan?" Max looked at Xandra, cocking an eyebrow. "Yes." Max replied flatly.   
  
"So what's this work or whatever that you do for Logan, anyway?" Xandra asked her. "Work," Max began, "If there's anything important going on with underground terrorists or Manticore, the most evil place on earth, I go in and kick some serious ass." Xandra nodded understandingly, "Sounds like fun, where do I sign up?" She asked Max sarcastically. But to her, it did sound like fun. It was what she had been built for, and Xandra was going to use that to the highest advantage.   
  
It was getting dark already. The girls threw their bikes down and turned in their backpacks and the horrendous jackets that Normal had left over from when he had designed them before the deal with the foreign company that was going to buy Jam Pony fell through. Max leaped gracefully onto her Ninja 350, and started it up. "Where ya goin?" Xandra asked her, as Max slid on and secured her helmet. She thought that she heard her mumble something like, "work." But before Xandra's brain could register any of the rest of this, Max was gone.   



	3. Seizure

  
3 -- 2 Weeks Later  
  
Max stood, her feet firmly planted on the ground, surveying the scene. Two of the guards were lying in piles of gravel next to the chain link fence in front of her. The other two were standing straight in front of her, waiting to make their move. She was surprised that they hadn't run off, or called for backup or something, especially after she had taken out half of their little patrol group.   
"So who's next?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. A tall, muscular man took a step forward, flashing a cocky grin. He obviously thought that he could actually hurt her. Max had to swallow hard to keep from laughing. This guy was pathetic. Muscle guy lunged forward, swinging a balled-up fist at Max's face. She caught his hand in mid-air, wrenching his arm backwards, feeling his tendons almost snapping under his thick, leathery skin. He collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain, then struggled to get up, just as the second guard ran for her, catching her off guard and knocking her down.   
Max moved quickly, flinging him easily off of her, and elbowing him hard in the face. She spun around quickly, kicking the other guard in the ribs just as he regained his balance. Angling her foot upward, Max extended her leg, nailing him again, this time in the face, then delivering an uppercut and sending him flying into the fence behind them. The turned around quickly, and noticed the remaining guard standing behind her ready to attack. Max clenched her fist, drew back her arm, and drove it straight into his face. Bright red blood flowed from his nose as he stumbled backwards, crashing into the fence.   
"No one messes with me." Max said coldly, mounting her motorcycle and riding off into the darkness.  
  
***  
  
Xandra's P.O.V.  
It's raining. Figures. It's Seattle, duh. It ALWAYS rains here. Doesn't matter what season it is, it always rains. It's actually cold enough outside for me to notice it. And I've been shaking since I got home. It's really weird. But I don't feel cold, even though I'm soaked. This is wrong. Something's wrong with me.   
  
***  
  
The dented, metal door of Zack's apartment swung forcefully open, and Xandra stumbled clumsily in. Her glorious blonde hair hung in long, rat-like clumps on the sides of her head, and her clothes were drenched beyond belief. Her legs wobbled under her weight, and she was shaking so violently that she almost collapsed once inside the doorway.   
"Oh my god!" Zack exclaimed when he entered the room, running quickly over to see what was wrong. "What happened?" he asked surprised, grabbing her shoulders, trying to keep her steady. Xandra's teeth chattered, "I-I don't kn-know." she answered, falling onto her knees on the hard, tile floor. Zack recognized the signs of a seizure when he saw them, this one was bad. Xandra hadn't ever had one before, and something this strong could easily kill her. "Why'd you come here?" he asked her, holding her head up so she wouldn't hurt herself. "C-couldn't let th-them see me like th-th-this." She managed to choke out, clawing and the floor. She snapped her eyes shut; trying to make the pain and shaking go away. It wouldn't.   
Zack raced into the next room, rummaging as fast as he could through his dresser, throwing things behind him as he went. He opened the third wooden drawer, and grabbed the small, white bottle. It was labeled in big, bold lettering: Tryptophane. He opened the cap and peered inside. Two pills. Only two left. God, he hoped that would be enough.   
He knelt down beside Xandra, brought her head up and poured the contents of the bottle from his hand into her mouth, and washed it down with what water he could get out of the faucet. Xandra swallowed hard, trying to get the pills down with as little pain as possible. God, it hurt so much. She laid her head back down, closing her eyes as tight as she could. Zack kept his hands around her head, holding down so she wouldn't bang it against the floor. She was shaking much worse by now, every muscle in her body seemed to tighten at the same time, tying themselves up in knots, it was too much pain.   
Xandra's breathing ceased. No, Zack thought, no you're not going to die. He felt her pulse, which was barely there. He couldn't have given her an overdose of Tryptophane, there were only two pills left, he and Max usually had to take much more to stop the seizures. She still wasn't breathing. No! He thought angrily, I won't let you die. He put his head on her chest, trying as hard as he could to hear her heartbeat.   
Xandra inhaled a lungful of air, gasping. Zack raised his head, staring in disbelief at her. She was alive. She was going to be okay. He brought her up into his arms, hugging her. "Zack what the hell? What happened?" she asked him confusedly. "Seizure," he said softly, not letting go of her, "Have to get you Tryptophane tomorrow." Xandra mumbled something Zack didn't quite hear or understand, and fell asleep.  
  
~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. (Except for Xandra Morris, who I will lend to you if you ask me.) The other characters belong to FOX, James Cameron, etc.  
  
Author's Note: If you'd like me to add a character, please specify what they should be like. Etc.   
  
  



	4. Thinking

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for Xandra. Don't sue me, you won't get much.  
  
Author's Note: This might be a little uneven, I wrote part of it before the Dec. 12th episode, and part of it after.   
  
4  
  
Xandra's P.O.V.  
So you're probably wondering why I went to Zack for help. Me too. I could've gone to Max, I guess. I just couldn't let them see me like that. Hurt. I don't want to bee looked at like that. Like I'm weak. I've had more training than the rest of them; I should be able to take care of myself. I couldn't this time. Zack just knows what it's like, trying not to disappoint people. Always feeling like he has to be the strong one, the one in charge that can look after themselves. I feel that way too. I've had to ever since I escaped. But I needed help, so I went to him. It still sounds weird to me. I went to Zack. I did. And that's all the better I can explain it.  
  
***  
  
Zack's P.O.V.  
I don't know what to think. I guess Xandra's a lot like I am. Maybe that's why she couldn't go to Max and Logan for help. She said she didn't want them to see her hurt like that. In trouble. All I could think of the whole time was hoping that she wouldn't die. I know that I admitted to Max that I wanted the same things as she did. Friends, family. Someone to care about. That's the part that scares me. I haven't felt anything but concern for my siblings and the will to protect them since I escaped. Now it's something different. Something I really can't explain. Because all of this phony sentimentality crap I talk about to Max so often to keep her from Logan, it might actually exist. In something that isn't so fake after all.   
  
***  
  
Max's P.O.V.  
So I kissed Logan. I really did. I can't believe it. I don't know if he actually remembered it either. Oh well. Maybe it's better that way. And Zack finally admitted that he wants the same things that we both don't have. But I haven't seen Xandra or Zack for a few days. I wonder what that means.   
  
***  
  
Logan's P.O.V.  
Max came back. I can't imagine that she risked her life to be with me. And you probably don't know how hard it was for me to just tell her to go like that. To leave me. To let herself be safe. But she came back. I'm sure Zack had a fit, after trying to save her. But I have put her in danger just by being her friend. And she kissed me. I still can't forget that. We both agreed out loud that it meant nothing, but I know that's not true. It meant something; otherwise she wouldn't have done it. I know we can't just say what s in both of our minds now, but maybe someday I'll be able to at least say what's on mine.  
  



	5. David

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters except for Xandra. If you'd like to borrow her for your fics, ask me first. Don't sue me, I'm broke. It'd be a total waste of your time.  
  
Author's Note: If you'd like me to add a character, please specify different characteristics. If you have ideas for future "ANOTHER" installments, let me know. I like to hear what you think. Thanks, and enjoy reading.   
  
Chapter 5  
  
The phone rang. Once. Twice. Xandra picked it up, "Hello?" she asked. Silence. "Hell-o?" she asked again, sounding annoyed. "Xandra."Said the voice on the other line. A male voice. It wasn't Logan, he rarely even called her, and she wasn't sure that Zack even knew the number. "Who is this?" she asked apprehensively, making a face. If someone knew who she was, and it wasn't Max, Logan or Zack, she was probably in danger. "David." Said the voice. She didn't know a David. "Who? From where?" Xandra asked, walking into her room, standing in front of the full-length mirror. "David. From Manticore." He said flatly.   
  
Xandra hadn't known any of the others from her group, XX. They had been separately trained since they were seven, and she barely remembered that there had been any others. She didn't think any of them would have been able to escape. Xandra had always been the strongest, the most determined, out of all of them, when they had been trained in a group setting. Always stronger, better, faster, more reactive than the others. She was one of Lydecker's few prized possessions, the one he would have done anything to get back. Just like Zack. He had told her that he had been the leader of X5. Always better, and if someone progressed past his level, he pushed himself harder, striving to be the best. The same kind of thing that Xandra had gone through. Engineered to be perfect, trained to be better than the rest. The two of them were so similar.   
  
Xandra shook the thoughts from her head. "Really?" she asked suspiciously, turning and walking toward the only window in her half-furnished apartment. Silence. Then, "Yes. I need to talk to you." David said bluntly, giving her directions of where to meet him. She hung up the phone. It was already two hours until midnight, the time when she was supposed to meet him. She slipped on her silver jacket, climbed out of the window, down the fire escape and ran up the alley.   
  
***  
  
"So this guy, whoever he is, wants you to go and meet him in an hour?" Logan asked Xandra, staring up at her from his wheelchair. "Yeah," she replied pacing around the linoleum floor, "Says he's from Manticore. My group." She explained. "And..." Logan began. "I don't remember that much. I know there might have been others, but..." she trailed off. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go through with all of this. Xandra was sure if there were others, others that had the ability to escape, that had escaped, she would've remembered. She would've brought them with her when she escaped if she could have. Actually, she wouldn't have. She was trained to operate individually, alone, she wouldn't have known how to deal with taking care of anyone but herself at the time. She wouldn't have even known them anymore. By the time that she had escaped, she was fourteen. It had been three years since then.   
  
Logan had been talking to her for a few minutes when she snapped back to reality. Lost in her thoughts again. Figures, she thought. "Whatever," she concluded, "I'm going. Be back sometime. I don't know when."   
  
She threw her coat back on and strode purposefully out the apartment door.   
  
***  
  
Xandra paced back and forth in the darkened alley, stepping in fresh puddles along the way. It was raining. Again. It was a dangerous part of Seattle, not that she wasn't used to danger. Zack would've killed her if he'd known she was doing this. He was so not into putting yourself or other ex-Manticores in danger. But she had to know whether this guy was telling the truth or not.   
  
A soft splashing sound came from behind Xandra at the far end of the alley. A man-shaped shadow stepped cautiously out from the shadows behind a tall, brick building. Xandra stepped confidently, or what she tried to exert as confidence, forward. "Xandra." The man said, stepping out of the shadows. He was a few inches taller than she was, with short, dirty-blond hair and a muscular frame. "David." She said flatly, raising her eyebrows and striding forward to face him. Just by looking at him, she decided he was probably what she should've expected. If he hadn't been someone that she had supposedly been raised with, she might have thought he was good-looking.   
  
She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I suppose that's all?" she asked him, sounding annoyed. Bright floodlights lit parts of the alley just enough to see David's face. He rubbed his stubbly chin, and lifted his gaze to the back end of the alley. Shadows of people walking toward them reflected on the wet brick walls. "Not now." He said quietly, so that no one else would hear. Xandra sighed, and shook her head. "I'll find you. Later." He said, disappearing into the shadows again. Figures, she thought, spinning around and heading back out into the street, on her way home.   
  
***  
  
Xandra wouldn't have headed to Logan's afterward if he hadn't asked her to. I shouldn't have ever gotten a pager, she thought. So now she stood in the middle of Cale's office, waiting for him to get off the phone with Max. She shouldn't have come. Or involved him with this in the first place. It was stupid, and now he was probably going to interrogate her about the meeting.   
  
"So how'd it go?" Logan asked, hanging up the phone. "How'd WHAT go? He showed up, said nothing, and left. Actually, all he said was that he'd come find me later. It was a waste of my damn time, if you ask me." Xandra grumbled angrily. That damn asshole had her come all the way across town to meet him, then said almost nothing and ran away. And now she was here. She had tried to avoid the rest of them so they wouldn't have the misfortune of seeing her in a bad mood, but somehow Logan had managed to get a hold of her, and she'd actually shown up. Dammit, she thought, I didn't even give him my number. Someone should really steal his computer system or something. Maybe then he won't be able to hack into mine.   
  
Max showed up a few minutes later, striding in the door without knocking like always. Xandra had to repeat herself again. The whole damn situation with David just seemed too stupid for words. If he was only here to waste her time, then there really was no point in even seeing him again. But she had a feeling that he was going to show up whether she wanted it or not, so it really didn't matter. And in about another hour, she finally left.  
  
***  
  
Zack burst in through the door to Xandra's apartment. The music was blaring from the stereo in the next room. He nearly knocked her over when he ran into the room to meet her. "Well, if it isn't the infamous." She greeted him, "And you didn't knock because?" She turned off the music, and strode into the next room. She felt a lecture coming on, and the best that she could do was run to the next room trying to avoid him for as long as possible.   
  
"I heard from Max that you saw another one of your kind." He said, making it sound like she was some kind of different species. Gee, thanks Zack, she thought. "Yeah. So?" she said, a little annoyed. He followed her into the next room, "So, you could be putting yourself in danger by even talking to him!" he raised his voice. I knew it, Xandra thought. "Yeah, okay! But I'm not even sure that he is one of us. I wasn't trained with the others in my group after you guys escaped! I don't remember them." Crap, she thought, now there's something else for him to yell at me about: letting a complete stranger know who I am. She sat down on a wooden stool, bracing herself for a good screaming marathon. Zack made a few strange little angry noises before he started lecturing her. She wasn't exactly listening to most of it; she figured that she could probably recite the entire thing by heart by now. She just watched intently as he paced back and forth, half-screaming at her, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.  
  
***  
  
  
  
  



	6. Disbelief

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel. I own Xandra, and that's all. Don't sue me.  
  
  
Chapter 6  
  
2 Days Later....  
  
Xandra was in the middle of a heated argument with Normal down at the Jam Pony when David walked in through the open metal doorway.   
  
"Hate to break it to ya Normal, but we're all looking for another job. And by the way, no one likes it when you try and play dictator." Xandra snapped, leaning against the front counter, tapping her nails on the metal. "That's nice, but this is MY business, and I'll run it the way I see fit." Normal retorted, shoving packages into Xandra's coworkers' hands.   
  
David tapped Xandra on the shoulder and she spun around. "What do you want?!" she started to say, but stopped when she saw his face. "And, Xandra, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't let your little boyfriends waltz right in and out of here whenever they please. This isn't a social hour, it's a job." Normal said angrily, looking at David. "He isn't my boyfriend, you asshole." She snapped back, grabbing David's arm and pulling him aside to an empty part of the building.   
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked, and then, "You know it's dangerous for you to try and find me, or are you too mentally deficient to figure that out yourself?" She stared angrily into David's face, she probably wouldn't have said those things if she hadn't been in that fight with Normal right before, but she was feeling particularly angry this morning. "Rowr!" David growled, acknowledging her moodiness, "So you wanna go talk or something." "I'm at work. Maybe if you weren't half-blind you could've noticed that by now." Xandra snapped. Sure, she was at work, even if Jam Pony wasn't the most desirable job on the market, but it wasn't exactly worth it to talk to this fool considering the way he had just taken off the other night. "You're coming with me, Okay." David said to her sternly, leading her out the door.  
  
***  
  
"Did you lose the desire to leave right after the first sentence of the conversation or something?" She asked David, sitting down on the leather stool at the unwashed café table. "Funny." He said, taking another sip of his coffee, if you could call it that. Xandra held her own Styrofoam cup in her hand, taking periodic gulps. She didn't drink coffee, but if the water alone tasted this bad, she wasn't sure that she'd ever want any.   
  
"So, how long have you been...you know?" David asked, boring holes into her head with his eyes. "Three years." She said hesitantly, staring at a piece of almost-food that was crusted onto the tabletop. David stared at her disbelieving most of the statement. He was older than she was, but somehow he wasn't strong enough to make it out of there before she, a skinny little girl, did. That was what the Manticore officials described as pitiful. But that was probably one of the many other reasons why she was so valuable to Lydecker. On the outside she was a small, slender, blue-eyed-blonde that you probably wouldn't think twice about taking on, thinking that you could easily hurt her. On the inside, Xandra was tougher than steel. That aspect of her was so surprising to most, one of the things that made her worth so much.   
  
"What about you?" she asked David, looking up from the table into his face. He hesitated for a moment and then said, "About a couple years." Are you lying again now? Xandra thought. Despite the fact that he covered it so well, Xandra still thought that maybe he wasn't really her 'brother.' There was just something a little wrong with him every time that she saw him that was a little out of place, but she couldn't put her finger on it.   
  
***  
  
::Phone Conversation::  
  
OUTSIDER - Hello?   
DAVID - It's me. We're good to go. I think she believes me.  
OUTSIDER - What do you mean 'YOU THINK?' Does she believe you or not?  
DAVID - Sorry, yeah she believes me, don't worry about it.  
OUTSIDER - Good. You've gone through with your part of the deal, now I'll uphold mine. Don't you dare screw this up. That girl is very, very valuable to the agency, you understand? If anything goes wrong, I'll have your head.  
DAVID - Yes sir.   
  
~End of Conversation~  
  
***  
  
It was ten at night, and Xandra, Zack and Max were standing around in Logan Cale's apartment. The topic of discussion was, of course, Xandra's supposed 'brother.' "I'm still not sure if he's for real." Xandra said flatly. She could feel Zack's anger almost bursting. She couldn't deny that he had a right to be mad, because she would've probably said the same things if it were Zack or Max in her shoes.   
  
Logan and Max hadn't believed her theory that this guy was telling her a bunch of bullshit from the start. She wasn't about to say it all again, just to try and convince them. It was a lost cause.   
  
As soon as the door closed behind them, Zack turned towards her. "You know, I think you're right. Maybe this asshole isn't really who he says he is." He said quietly, looking down into her eyes. She hadn't noticed it before, but Zack was almost an entire foot taller than she was. "Yeah, well at least someone believes me." Xandra said appreciatively, quietly exiting the apartment buildings and heading for her own.  
  
***  
  
Xandra walked quietly down the puddle-covered alley on the way to her abandoned apartment building. Her black oxfords make a squeaking noise as she walked. She wasn't really thinking about what was going on, and for the first time in a long time she was calm. And for some odd reason, she kept thinking about Zack. The way his eyes always seemed to sparkle a little when she talked to him was a little suspicious. Oh shut up, she thought to herself, I'm seeing things.   
  
Just then, someone standing behind Xandra in the shadows raised their hand up, and brought it down hard against the back of her head.   
  
  



	7. Liar

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (except Xandra). They belong to James Cameron, FOX, and the writers of the show.  
  
Author's Note: If you have any ideas, or want me to add a character, please notify me.  
  
Chapter 7  
  
When Xandra finally woke up, she was face to face with David. She didn't know what was going on. She tried to move her arms, but stopped as an acute pain shot up her arm. She had to bite her lip pretty hard to stop herself from crying out in pain. Her wrists were bound together with a strange kind of rope, which was digging into her skin.   
  
"What the hell is going on?" She growled through her teeth. She tried to wrench her wrists out of the binding rope, but it was no use. David laughed lightly, which made him seem even more evil than he clearly already was. Damn, she thought. Her head hurt so badly that she could barely see straight. He laughed, watching her struggle unsuccessfully to get out of the metal chair she was tied to.   
  
He knelt down so that he was inches from her face, "You're a very valuable person, Xandra." He said, unable to wipe the sadistic grin off his face. "So I've been told." She snapped, glaring coldly at David. "So you wanna explain," she began, raising her voice to a scream, "What the fuck I am doing here!?" "Well, ya see Xandra, you're such a valuable resource, if you could call it that, that we just couldn't let you elude us this time." He said, chucking evilly under his breath.   
  
"I knew it. You're not really from Manticore, are you, Mister Asshole?" Xandra retorted angrily, trying again to squeeze her wrists out of the knotted rope. "Oh no, I AM from Manticore. I even have the little designer label to prove it, ya wanna see?" he asked her, showing her the small, black barcode on the back of his neck. Xandra's eyes opened wide in a combination of sadness, confusion and anger. He WAS from Manticore, possibly her group. Why would he do this to her? Xandra was his sister! No, you're not going to cry, she told herself angrily. As long as she didn't show him that maybe she had the slightest chance of being human, she was at least a little safer. He clearly wasn't human, a good actor though.   
  
"Anyways," he continued, "You were way too valuable to lose, so they sent me to get you back. Did a good job, didn't I?" David answered, pacing around the cement floor. Xandra looked around, she couldn't see much because her vision was too blurry, but other than that, she couldn't recognize whatever the place was that they were at. "You were in my group weren't you? Before were turned seven." She said flatly, staring him in the face. "Oh, of course, it was the easiest way for Lydecker to find you. They just recruited someone from your own group, someone that you would've trusted." He laughed gleefully.   
  
"Now I remember," Xandra said surprised, "I remember you. You were the little, weak one. The one that Lydecker was going to have put out of its misery. That was the year I ran away." She laughed, "You always tried to be so much better than the rest of us, didn't you? Tried so hard." David started backing up, shaking his head vigorously, clearly unable to accept what Xandra had remembered. "But you couldn't do it, could you? Ya see, I was always so much better than the rest of you, and you just couldn't take it. I was Lydecker's prized possession, and you idolized him so much that you would have done anything to take my place." She continued, a emotionless expression on her face. Fury burned in David's eyes, as he stepped forward, and drove his fist into the side of Xandra's face.  
  
She straightened her head, and laughed, "Damn, you always were the psychotic one. They really brainwashed you, didn't they? You probably volunteered for this shitty job, didn't you? You wanted to see your own sister dead, or worse. The worse being back in Manticore." David hit her again, and bright red blood flowed from her open lip.   
  
Xandra struggled with her hands behind her, reaching for her back jeans pocket. That was where she always kept on of those Pre-Pulse Swiss Army Knives. She scooted back in her chair, trying to reach it, almost falling over as David hit her again. She almost dropped the knife on the ground when it finally came out of her pocket. She opened the blade, and slid it over the fraying rope, being careful not to accidentally slice her wrists. Next she worked through the rope that bound her legs to the chair, but David didn't seems to notice, he was too busy ranting and punching her and almost crying. Weak, thought Xandra. The rope around her legs fell to the ground. "Hey asshole." She yelled at him, as he ran over to her, preparing to deliver another blow to the face. Xandra lifted her leg, and extended it, kicking him hard in the balls. David doubled over in pain, his eyes crossed and his mouth formed a wide 'O' of surprise.   
  
Xandra wasted no time, and drove her fist into his surprised face, and then delivered a hard kick to the ribs, which sent David stumbling backwards, landing against the concrete wall. She lifted him up by the shoulders, and slammed him against the wall. Xandra gripped her bony hand around his throat, lifting him against the wall, about two feet off of the ground. David gasped for air, clawing at the concrete wall that he was pressed up against. Xandra unhinged her hand, letting him fall onto the cement floor of the building. He sucked in a lungful of air, staring in disbelief at his 'sister.' "Don't you even try and fucking mess with me again." Xandra growled at him. David nodded, and Xandra ran out of the building.  
  
***  
  
"So we were right." Zack acknowledged, staring into Xandra's face, as cut-up and bruised as it was. "Yeah, well not exactly. It turns out he WAS one of my group. Sort of the 'weak link' so to speak. David would've given anything to be Lydecker's prized possession like I was. They were actually going to kill him off at one point, because he wasn't trained well enough to do simple tasks. Turns out that he volunteered for this, to get me and take me back to Manticore." Xandra explained, trying to wash the dried blood off of her face. "Oh." Zack said understandingly.   
  
"Hey you don't mind if I crash here, do you?" she called from the other room. Zack's eyes widened. "It's kinda not safe for me to go back to my place yet. Not until I move everything, and I know how you'd hate for any of us to be put in danger." Xandra said persuasively. Zack shook the thoughts from his head, "Uh...yeah, sure." He wasn't sure that it was him that said it until he heard the words. "Thanks!" she called from the 'living room.' Zack didn't know how he was going to handle her sleeping in the same room as he was, he didn't even know how he felt about her yet. Oh shut up, he thought, just shut up.  



	8. Happy New Year

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel. Don't sue me.   
  
Claimer: I own Xandra. Borrow her for your fics if you like, but ask me first.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
When Xandra woke up the next morning, she discovered that she had been sleeping almost upside-down in the only chair in Zack's apartment. She tilted herself upright, and threw the old, wool blanket off of her. Zack must've covered her up after she somehow fell asleep the night before. She adjusted her sky blue sweater and made her way into the other part of the room. Zack had left. Probably hours before. Oh well, she thought, feeling a little disappointed. She picked up her black boots and shoved them onto her sock-covered feet. "Where's my coat?" she asked to no one in particular, searching around the room until she finally realized that she had flung it over the same chair that she had been sleeping in. Xandra always did that kind of thing. She slipped the sliver vinyl-type fabric over her and headed out the door. It was almost noon, so Xandra figured that maybe she could go back to her apartment in the safety of daylight.  
  
***  
  
Once inside the unclean apartment that was hers, Xandra peeled off her jacket and threw it across the room. At the time, she hadn't really cared where it was going to land. It was oddly hot for being almost January, and for once, it hadn't been raining, but then again, it hadn't snowed either. And she had been in Seattle long enough to figure out that it, on normal terms, snowed during this time of the year.   
  
Xandra shivered, walking down the small 'hall' in her sad excuse for a living space, shooting looks that could kill at the broken window. True, it wasn't actually that cold outside, but it was cold enough that spending winter at the North Pole this year sounded warm. She wasn't going to try and fix the window at this point. She had less than no time for that. And she couldn't decide whether someone had broken into the apartment or the window had just broken on its own. No, someone had committed a breaking-and-entering. Didn't steal anything though, because there really wasn't that much for even the most desperate delinquent to take. Unless of course they wanted the pitiful looking sandwich that she had constructed out of the last of her food a few days ago before getting paged by Logan (Again) and having to leave in the middle of a meal.   
  
Xandra glanced over at the phone. Shouldn't have even got one, she thought subconsciously. To her surprise, the message button was blinking. Her face twisted into an expression of curiosity, and she pushed the button on the machine.   
  
***  
  
This was not a party.   
  
Max's message on her answering machine had said that Logan was having some sort of get-together at his place for New Year's. Naturally, Xandra had shown up looking for a good time. This 'holiday' was supposed to be somewhat fun, but all Max and Logan had been doing so far was hanging out staring at the Christmas tree and talking. It must've been oh-so fascinating for the two of them, but Xandra could recognize lameness run amok when she saw it. About the most close-to-fun thing that she'd done all night was finishing off the remains of Logan's candy cane stash. Neither of them had wanted any. They'd probably even enjoy themselves more if she left. Actually, she had planned on asking Zack to show up too, but that would've been rude. Especially since the party wasn't hers, and Zack and Logan had constantly been at each other's throats since the two had met.   
  
"Uh...you guys...I think I'm gonna head out."  
They didn't seem to be listening. Xandra closed the door behind her as she left.  
  
***  
  
Ugh, Xandra thought disgustedly. She could feel the spiraling curls cascading around her face, heavily hairsprayed. It was one of the very few times that she had actually paid attention and took pride in her appearance, and she didn't have anything to show for it. When she was younger, and had just escaped, she had absolutely hated her hair. She was blonde, not fairy-tale, Rapunzel blond, but blond enough to stick her in the category. She had considered dyeing her way right out of that category, when something dawned on her. She liked being blond because it made people think that they could pick on you. And Xandra liked it when people thought that they could pick on her. Gave her a chance to give whoever it was a good ass kicking.   
  
Her thoughts began to drift, and Xandra found herself thinking about David. Asshole. How dare he hit her. She still had bruises and dried blood on her face. Damn him. But as long as he was alive, as long as she was alive, Lydecker would be looking for her. He had probably had David executed by now. That's the price that you pay for failure, she thought calmly.  
  
***Meanwhile***  
  
Max stared up at the lights on the leftover Christmas tree. Light from the nearby fireplace flickered quickly, and almost died. She'd been in Logan's apartment for a considerably long time. But hey, he was feeding her, so that was a good excuse for staying there for almost the entire night. It was close to midnight. She kind of regretted it in a way. The Seattle time zone was about the last to actually see the New Year, so that made the wait for it almost unbearable. Not that she was in a hurry.  
  
She had just noticed a few minutes ago that Xandra had left. It didn't surprise her. But she'd probably been gone for hours, and Max hadn't noticed because her and Logan had been talking up a storm. Nothing in particular. He was in the kitchen or something now, getting some kind of weird food Max had probably never heard of in her life.   
  
Moments later, Logan came wheeling hurriedly out of the kitchen, with a bottle of wine in one hand and the weird-food type thing in the other. Max could barely contain her laughter. This was bad-soap-opera cheesy. Logan however, must not have had any idea of what she was giggling at by the confused expression on his face.   
  
"What?" he asked impatiently.  
  
Max just laughed.  
  
***  
  
Xandra's ears pricked, she heard a faint, weak scream. Her eyes darted in the direction that the scream had come from, she saw a shadowy figure slumping over in a bench on the side of the street, and another, taller figure running out of the deserted street.   
  
She ran. She didn't have to think about it. The man slumped over in the bench was old, and there was blood collecting in the heavy wrinkles on the side of his face. He was out cold. She looked sharply to the right, seeing the attacker running off and cutting into a nearby, empty parking lot.   
  
Xandra sprinted after him. He was fast, but she was faster. She felt her feet violently pounding the pavement as she ran, the literally launched herself, tackling him from behind. The man shouted in surprise, as he fell, tasting concrete. It took her a couple of seconds to pin the attacker to the ground, kneeing him in the stomach and forcing his head to the ground. When she looked up, her heart caught in her throat.   
  
It was Zack.   
  
She let go of his neck, and in an instant he flipped her, pinning her to the ground, her waist squeezed in between his legs, the heels of his hands pushing her shoulders into the ground. Xandra closed her eyes, then snapped them open again, "Zack...what the hell?" she said confusedly. He pressed harder on her shoulders, which were digging into the pavement. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he bellowed at her.   
  
She managed to break her arms out of his grasp, and pulling his arms out from under him. All of his weight nearly collapsed on her, but she didn't have time to gasp for air. She threw him off of her, struggling to find her balance. Zack dove at her. She could've prevented the fall, but a thousand and one martial arts lessons had taught her not to. She took the fall as he tackled her from the front, but shoved a foot into his stomach, pushed, and flipped him onto his back. She gripped her small hand around his throat, "What the hell happened?" she screamed through gritted teeth. He explained. She thought he had nearly killed the old man, he had been running for help. She felt stupid, and let him up. Mistake.  
  
As soon as they both found their footing, Zack ran at her, placing his hands on her shoulders and giving a hard shove. Xandra hit the parking lot ground hard, "Ow!" she complained. She stood up, sprinted at the figure that had started walking off. Zack was a lot taller than she was, so she almost had to jump to jab her shoulder into the space between his shoulder blades. "Uff!" he grunted, almost falling over, then delivering a side kick to her stomach. Xandra stumbled backwards. Why were they fighting like this, over nothing? Though, she had to admit that it was kind of amusing to be fighting someone as strong and as trained as she was.   
  
Her rage had exploded, though she didn't even know what caused it. Sometimes this happened. Her anger and aggression built up until she couldn't stand it anymore, and she beat up on whoever crossed her path first. But this time it was Zack. Why?? She punched him. Hard. Not one of her well thought out punches, though, because it almost missed its target. He turned his now bruised face back to Xandra and muttered something nasty under his breath. Zack could be quite the asshole when he felt like it.   
  
Then she heard something. A siren. Someone had called what very few cops that there were in Seattle. Xandra saw Zack run off. North. She knew she wasn't going to follow him, going that way. She wasn't afraid, but she ran anyway. As far and as fast as she could, and didn't stop until she was back at her apartment.   
  
Happy fucking New Year, she thought furiously.  



	9. Swirled Emotions

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel.  
  
Author's Note: I'm looking for a beta reader, so if you're interested, please email me: Little_Glitzy@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Xandra slid down the wall of her apartment, and put her face into her hands. What the hell was wrong with her?? She didn't want to hurt Zack like that, back there. She liked him. She really did. But it was all just pent-up aggression, and he wasn't hurt that bad. Right?   
  
He had just run off like that. It hurt her. She hadn't wanted to see him go. Watch him leave her. It was just too painful. He might have been one of her very, very few friends. That is, if she hadn't acted like that.   
  
She wasn't in heat. She knew that. If she had been she wouldn't have beaten up on him. She would've done...something else. And he had the cat DNA too, but males didn't go into heat. So what was so wrong with her that she would do this kind of thing? Why?? Sure, she had thought that maybe he had hurt that person, whomever he was, but she didn't have to keep the fight going.   
  
Xandra felt horrible. She wanted to talk to Zack. Just talk to him, and then maybe he wouldn't hate her. Just to try and make it better, which was a little more for her than it was for him. But he probably will hate me anyway; she thought miserably, He'll probably tell me to go to hell and not to ever talk to him again. But I deserve it for what I did. He hung her head. This feeling sorry for yourself crap wasn't doing her any good. Dammit.   
  
She looked down at her arms, stomach, and shoulders. All bruised. Zack did know how to fight. And now she was feeling a tremendous amount of pain because of it. Damn, she had been so scared when he had been pushing her shoulders into the pavement just a few hours ago. Scared that he was going to seriously hurt her, or maybe...kiss her? She wasn't afraid of much, but she couldn't handle thinking about being with a man, especially Zack, for very long. The thought intoxicated her, and that was just about the last thing that she needed. She was almost sure that Zack had absolutely no feelings for her. She'd been through his 'phony sentimentality' speech a hundred times. "It will get me killed." She said to herself, looking down at the floor. As hard as it was, Xandra had to admit one fact: Zack was right.  
  
***Meanwhile***  
  
Max sat back into the chair, one of the only ones in the apartment that she and Kendra shared. He roommate was out at the time, so Max was trying to relax. It wasn't working.   
  
She could barely keep the sadistic smile off of her face. Logan had kissed her. Not some fairy-tale kiss, but it had been nice. It was at the stroke of midnight, she reminded herself quietly, and it's tradition or something. But he wouldn't have done it if Logan hadn't had some kind of feelings for her. Strange. She didn't feel like going to talk to him about it. It was two in the morning. This was a time when normal people, people like Logan, slept.   
  
She wouldn't go and see him until the next afternoon, probably. Enough time for her to think. Think this all through. But one thing was for sure: Max was going to confront him about it. Nicely. She was going to find out how he really felt about her.   
  
***  
  
Zack wasn't hurt. Not that badly, at least. He had one bruise, on his face from the punch Xandra had thrown at him. She'd almost missed. But that wasn't something that he was going to waste his time thinking about.   
  
He didn't even know why the fight had begun. Xandra probably didn't like him all that much, like most of the people that he'd met. Figures. He hoped that he hadn't hurt her. She's been trained you idiot, he thought to himself, she's fine. She's fine. She'll be fine; she can take care of herself. She told me that the very first day that I met her. But he couldn't help but worry.   
  
Zack wondered what she might think if he came to talk to her. No, he told himself sternly, don't even think about it. Maybe I should, just to clear things up. NO. He wasn't ready to risk anything that was already there by going and talking to her. Xandra might just haul off and hit him again. He also didn't want to find out that maybe she really did hate him. Maybe he was right. And the possibility of having something near perfect was a whole lot better than what might happen if he did go over there.   
  
***  
  
I did it. And I can't believe it. I always wondered what it would take to do that. To actually kiss Max. I meant it too, if you were wondering. I wonder what she's thinking right now. I really wish I knew whether or not she has real feelings for me. This kind of waiting and wondering almost kills me. And I think you know why. If it took me this long, I can't even imagine what it will take to do anything else. I wish she had stayed. Maybe then I wouldn't feel so confused. Maybe she resents me for it. God, I hope not. I won't blame her if maybe she doesn't want to talk about it. If I was like her, and practically built so I had trouble recognizing emotions, I'd want to be left alone too. I'll leave her alone for no. Let her sort it all out. She'll come back when she wants to talk about it.   
  



	10. Rainstorm Heat

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel  
  
Claimer: I own Xandra. If you'd like to borrow her for your fanfics, please ask me.  
  
Author's Note: I'm looking for a Beta Reader - if you're interested please e-mail me: Little_Glitzy@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Dammit.  
  
That guy was like a drug.   
  
Oh god, Xandra thought, not again. But there was no way around it. She always thought of Zack. It's not like she wanted to. In fact, every time she thought about him or even heard his name, she could literally feel her heart collapse inward and it felt like someone was squeezing it and her stomach simultaneously. What the hell, she thought confusedly, I can't be in love?   
  
Love wasn't in Xandra's Manticore-induced vocabulary. She just didn't get the whole concept of it. Fight. Strength. Pain. All words that she knew. She didn't know love. She didn't know what it felt to be in love. After all, you couldn't truly be in love with someone without really knowing them first, could you? She fought the urge so slap some sense into herself. I'm going completely insane, she thought dejectedly.   
  
It had been at least two weeks since she'd seen him last. She apologized for the fight that she'd started in the parking lot on New Years. He hadn't said much to her. But she was used to not seeing him for weeks at a time. She needed to see him. Dammit, she thought angrily, Zack might as well be a drug.   
  
She had to literally force herself to push the thought from her mind every time that she caught herself thinking of him. But it was almost the only thing that she did now. Think of how perfect that it might be, the two of them being together. She could almost perfect the image of what they would look like; his arms around her, her head on his shoulder. Dancing. It wasn't something that she did much. Dammit, she screamed silently. She just caught herself again.   
  
The thing that she feared the most, though, was that maybe it wasn't at all possible to take Zack in moderation. She had the petrifying feeling that if he were to hold her, to let her know he loved her; that she'd never be able to let him go. It scared her to death.   
  
That was it. She had to do something to keep him off of her mind.   
  
***  
  
Max paced back and forth in the middle of Logan's apartment. He hadn't been home when she'd shown up, letting herself in as always. He'd figure it out fast enough when he wheeled himself through the door.   
  
This was actually one of the very few times that she'd been truly nervous. She had come to talk to Logan about why he'd kissed her New Year's Eve. She'd almost convinced herself that the only reason that it had happened was because of that old Pre-Pulse tradition, that Logan had somehow managed to keep alive in his brain long enough to kiss her.   
  
No, she thought, he must feel something for me otherwise he wouldn't have done it at all. Max vigorously shook her head and swung open the door so she could leave.   
  
There was Logan, sitting straight up in his wheelchair, reaching for the brass doorknob. A bag of groceries tumbled from his lap and the contents flew across the wood floor.   
  
"Max." he managed to say that much once he recovered from his shock, as she helped pick up the brown paper bag and its contents.   
  
"Logan." She said flatly, staring fiercely up into his eyes, a sly smile on her face.   
  
"Why're ya here?" he asked, seeming particularly interested in why the hell she was in his, what used to be locked, empty apartment.   
  
"Picked the lock," she said nonchalantly, "you really should get one of those computerized things or something. You won't have penitentiary escapees ransacking your apartment as much."  
  
"Or beautiful, genetically engineered women." He commented. Max tried to smile at the pathetic attempt at a joke.  
  
"So why'd you really come here?" Logan asked her inquisitively.   
  
"Uh...I, uh." She stammered. "I wanted to know why you kissed me. On New Year's." she said as clearly as she could.   
  
Logan looked genuinely surprised by the question, and started to stutter himself. "Tradition." He managed to choke out. He hoped he was a good liar. He didn't think that Max wanted to know how he felt about her. Not quite yet.   
  
Logan's not a very skilled liar, Max thought to herself, trying to suppress a grin. It was the kind of answer that she had expected from him, though.   
  
"Okay. That was all I wanted to know." She said, trying to sound like she didn't care, and not quite succeeding. She threw on her leather jacket and headed towards the door.  
  
"Wait." Logan said urgently. Max spun around and gave him a questioning look.   
  
"You can stay here. I'm making pasta." He told her persuasively.   
  
"I can boil the water!" Max nearly shouted with false enthusiasm. She headed towards the stove, with Logan following her closely behind.   
  
***  
  
Xandra tried to pull her rain-soaked hair away from her face. No success. It was pouring, and the blond curtains were plastered to her head in a slick, shiny mass. She smiled up into the midnight sky. She could actually see the stars tonight.   
  
She was proud of herself. Xandra hadn't thought of Zack for the whole walk around Seattle that she'd taken. It had probably been a couple of hours, though she couldn't really tell because she never wore a watch. It wasn't like she needed one anyway, because the only time that she paid attention to the hour of the day was when she needed sleep, and that was rarely.   
  
She'd discovered something new about herself since she'd left, anyway. Dammit, she was in heat. That truly, undeniably sucked. All the more reason for her to keep her mind off of Zack. She might actually find the will to search for him. All the more reason to avoid Zack, because who knew how long this would last. Oh god. What if he was near her? If he was any closer than 5 blocks, he could probably figure it out from there. Damn pheromones.   
  
But what if he caught up to her? What if she did something drastically stupid like throw herself at him? What if...?   
  
No. That couldn't happen. No way. She could only hope that he wouldn't find her. That she could somehow prevent whatever might happen if he did.   
  
***Meanwhile***  
  
Zack was soaked almost to the bone. He'd been walking almost all night. Thinking. Trying to clear his head. Trying to forget about Xandra.  
  
He'd been surprised when she'd apologized to him. She was usually such a 'I'm not gonna apologize for being myself' type of person. It was ironic. That was maybe one of this things that he wouldn't have changed at all. Not the kicking, punching, fighting part; the tackling, rolling on the ground part.   
  
Dammit, he was thinking about her again.   
  
He smelled something. Zack wasn't sure what it was, but he could smell it. Instinct forced him to follow the scent.   
  
***  
  
Gentle footsteps padded on the concrete behind Xandra. She spun around, peering into the darkness.   
  
A figure came forward. Tall, dark, muscular.   
  
She almost gasped.  
  
It was Zack.  
  
DamnShitHellFuck. She probably thought that same thing for the following minute and a half.  
  
This was not happening. She couldn't let it.   
  
Oh god. He opened his mouth to say something. Nothing came out.  
  
And then finally, "Xandra..." She'd never heard her name sound quite that way before. Her head was spinning and she could feel someone squeezing her heart.   
  
Maybe this was what caused spontaneous human combustion.  
  
"Zack." She said, trying to keep her voice from wavering. Damn, she always let him get to her like that.  
  
She knew at once how he'd found her, and tried not to let on that she knew. She could tell that he was trying to do the same.  
  
Xandra shivered. It was unusual, she wasn't cold.   
  
Zack brought his face down, a little closer to hers. "I'll walk you..." he didn't quite finish his sentence. He knew that she understood what she was talking about. Xandra nodded. Her apartment was a hell of a lot nicer than his was, anyway. Maybe nothing would happen. She let out a sigh.  
  
---1 hour later---  
  
They hadn't talked much on the walk back. Now they were at the banged-up door to Xandra's apartment.   
  
Zack was looking at her. Not like any other man on the street. He was looking into her eyes. God, he clearly didn't know that made her melt. He had eyes like she did. They were blue. And beautiful. Damn, why'd she have to feel like this.  
  
Xandra opened her mouth to say something. It was too late. Zack's hand pressed lightly on her shoulders, pushing her slightly up against the cold, cement wall. And he moved his face down to hers. And everything seemed to move in slow motion.   
  
Zack's lips found hers. He kissed her softly, and slowly and passionately. And it was beautiful, and wonderful and everything that she'd always wanted.   
  
She broke away, tears almost forming in her eyes. She couldn't have him. It was too fair, and she'd never had anything this perfect before in her life. She left Zack outside the apartment door and shut it slowly behind her.  
  
She had second-guessed herself. She knew he was still there.   
  
She flung the door open. Zack was still there. She must have known him better than she thought.   
  
She grabbed the back of his neck, which was warm and wet from rain and marked with the same black lines as hers was. She kissed him back, and pulled him inside the door, shut it and locked it.   
  



	11. Snow

  
Disclaimer: I don't own DA. Never have, and never will.   
  
Author's Note: Okay, so the original CH. 11 sorta sucked and didn't turn out the way I wanted, so I rewrote it. Hope ya enjoy!  
  
***  
  
Max sat across from Logan at the dinner table, nearly inhaling her plate of angel hair pasta. She'd decided after the first bite that Italian was her new favorite food.   
  
She looked up to see Logan chuckling quietly from across the table. His wire-frame glasses were slightly bent. He'd probably been sleeping with them on again.  
  
"What?" Max asked, confused and a little offended.   
  
"Nothing. Nevermind, Max." he said defensively, trying not to burst into laughter, "It's just that you're acting like you haven't eaten in about three years, that's all." He explained, followed by another burst of laughter.   
  
Max rolled her eyes at him and finished her meal.   
  
Around a half and hour later, they were still sitting at the dining room table, talking quietly.  
  
Suddenly, there was a long pause. What better chance to embarrass him? Max thought mischievously.   
  
"So Logan, about that kiss..." she began, trying to drag the question out as to receive the best reaction from him.  
  
Logan coughed somewhat loudly, and then proceeded to act like the question hadn't fazed him. He didn't quite succeed.   
  
"Wha-What?" he choked out confusedly.   
  
Max lifted herself from the chair and strode over to his side of the table, bending down next to his ear and whispered, "Logan, you kissed me a couple days ago, now are you going to tell me that it all meant nothing?" Max smiled slyly, staring down at him with her chocolate colored eyes.  
  
Logan felt his cheeks burning, turning red. He hoped that Max wouldn't notice. He turned and looked up at her, feeling a bit flustered and wincing a bit he looked her straight in the eye, "Yes."   
  
He's not very good at lying, Max thoughts, almost grinning. She put one perfect hand on his shoulder and felt him shiver at her touch. She moved to the other side of him, "Are you sure??" she asked him, trying as best as she could to keep the innocent act going. This was very amusing to her.   
  
He was clearly blushing and was looking up at her; his eyes seemed to be begging for her mercy.   
  
"Okay." Said Max, sitting back in her chair, acting like she was going to give up on him. Logan breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe for now.   
  
Logan leaned back in his wheelchair and felt his cheeks slowly return to their normal color. He hoped she wouldn't do that again, especially if he had been eating. He would've started choking.   
  
***  
  
-2 Hours Later-  
  
Max sat in the small, cushioned seat in Logan's penthouse window.   
  
It was snowing. It was actually snowing.   
  
It had been pouring before, and by now she was glad to see some of the white stuff. Especially here, where it hardly ever snowed. It would probably just melt the second it hit the pavement, but at least she could enjoy it for now.   
  
Logan came wheeling himself out of, well, whatever room he had been in before now. Max had kind of zoned out watching the little, intricate white flakes drop out of the midnight sky.   
  
"Heya." She said, still staring out the window.   
  
"It's snowing." Logan said, somewhat surprised. Then he turned his gaze to Max, "What's up?" She looked a little bit worried or sad or something that he couldn't really decipher.   
  
Max shook herself out of her trance, "Oh, nothing. I just haven't really seen snow since uh, well, you know." She said absently, looking into his pale blue eyes. He didn't have his glasses on, for once. And he looked even more handsome without them. OH! Stop thinking that girl, you'll drive yourself crazy, Max gave herself a mental jolt to wake herself up.   
  
"What time is it, anyway?" she asked Logan, who seemed utterly content sitting there, staring at her.   
  
He shook his head, "Uh," searched his arms for a watch, "um, late." He tried to sound sure of himself. "You can crash here if you want. There's a guest room." He had just told her something she already knew. Max probably hated that.   
  
"Nah. I'm not real tired. What bout you?" She asked, sliding off of the window seat.   
  
"Me either. But how about we go out and enjoy this while it lasts." He smiled, pointing out the window.   
  
Max followed him out the door, not bothering to put on a coat.   
  
*  
  
They stood outside on the curb, staring into the sky. Thank god there weren't any people around or they'd be deemed insane by anyone that passed them.   
  
Max giggled happily and absent-mindedly grabbed Logan's hand. In fact, she only realized what she'd done when she saw Logan staring at their entwined fingers from his seat in the wheelchair.   
  
"Oh. Sorry." Max said randomly and released her grip on his hand.   
  
"No. It's okay..." Logan said quietly, which she obviously didn't hear, and looked at him surprised when he reached out for her hand. She finally relaxed a little, and squeezed his hand back as they walked out into the night.   
  
***  
  
-Xandra's Apartment-  
  
Xandra's eyes fluttered open.   
  
It took her a while to realize where she was, and when she finally did, she had no desire to move whatsoever.   
  
Zack was holding her close to his chest, and she could hear his steady heartbeat and feel his chest going up and down as he breathed. He had one hand in her hair, which had dried and returned to its normal golden color, and the other caressing the small of her back. She sucked in a breath and laid her head on his chest. He smelled good. Like rain and dirt and himself.   
  
"Hey you." She heard Zack say softly into her ear. She raised her head and he kissed her lovingly on the lips. Xandra kissed him back and laid her head on his shoulder, watching him stare deeply into her eyes. She suddenly wanted to stay here with him for the rest of her life.   
  
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes sparkled. She'd never seen them do that. They had some kind of understanding. She knew he loved her, and he knew she loved him. And neither of them had to say anything.   
  
*  
  
There was a knock at the door to Xandra's apartment, and she jerked straight up in bed, pulling the covers around her as she stared at the door apprehensively.  
  
She heard arguing outside the door. Sounded like; "Why...go in.... friend." and then, "knock.... rude...hush!"   
  
"Hey Xandra! You in there?" came Max's voice on the other side of the door, "It's me, and uh, Logan."  
  
Xandra's eyes widened, and the both of them were up in a fraction of a second.   
  
Xandra had never gotten dressed so quickly in her life.   
  
They scrambled around quietly, grabbing random articles of clothing that were lying haphazardly across the floor.   
  
"I'll be there in a minute," she shouted, trying to cover up the sound of Zack stomping around the room trying to find and pull his clothes on.   
  
Xandra motioned towards the open window. The fire escape was right outside. "Zack!" she whispered, "Fire escape! They won't stay long, quick, out the window!"   
  
Zack, for once, did as he was told. He nearly slipped down the stairs as he exited the window, and tried not to shout in surprise when he found himself sitting in a pile of snow outside the apartment. They were five floors up; there was no way to get down all of the stairs quickly enough without breaking his neck. Besides, he wanted to stay with Xandra.   
  
"Hold on a sec!" she yelled, yanking a shirt over her head, and striding towards the door.   
  
"Took ya long enough!" Max said, giving her a look as she waltzed right into the apartment like she owned it. But Max was like that. Logan gave Xandra an apologetic look as he wheeled himself in.   
  
"So what's up? I was wonderin if ya wanted to come hang out with us tonight. It's kinda boring right about now." Max said to her, looking around the apartment, her eyes lingering on the tangled mat of sheets on Xandra's bed. She didn't seem to think too much of it. Xandra breathed a sigh of relief.   
  
"Uh, actually, I think I'm gonna stay here. Got some stuff to work on. Ya know." She lied.   
  
"Come on. You come with us, and we could come up with some crazy shit to do." Max tried to persuade her. It wasn't working.   
  
"Whoa, why's the window open? Gawd, girl, It's cold outside!" Max walked across the room to shut the window. Xandra was bolted to the floor hoping that Zack wasn't still there and maybe they wouldn't find out.   
  
But sure enough, Max stuck her head out the window, and screamed in surprise.   
  
"Max! What is it?" Logan shouted, making it across the room in record time.   
  
Oh god, I'm dead, thought Xandra, embarrassed.   
  
Max and Logan both stared in confusion. "ZACK?!" they said in unison, identical expressions of surprise on their faces. A shirtless Zack was sitting outside Xandra's window in a pile of snow.   
  
The two of them exchanged surprised and confused glances between Xandra and Zack, who was still sitting outside, for about ten minutes, but Xandra figured that they probably had deciphered the situation by now anyway.   
  
Xandra covered her forehead with a hand and laughed nervously.   
  
Max was giving her a What-The-Hell-Are-You-Kidding-Me look. Logan's expression was something along the lines of Zack!-Are-You-Out-Of-Your-Mind?   
  
Within five minutes they left out of just plain confusion and surprise, and Zack climbed back in the window.   
  
They both breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed backward, lying down on the bed, side by side.   
  
If situation wasn't hell, Xandra didn't know what was.  



End file.
